The drawdown of the Jordan Aquifer in iowa & elsewhere threatens water as an available resource in the future (2014)

[atler8]

It is fortunate to know that the State of Iowa, it's municipalities & various planning agencies are involved in confronting the growing challenge facing the state over the threat to the large aquifer known as the Jordan Aquifer.
There are many comparable aquifers elsewhere in the U.S. that are already in extremely serious decline. Too often, a head-in-the-sand approach seems to be how such declines are confronted. Unfortunately the end result in those areas where the rate of water resource depletion exceeds the supply will be a demand that the federal government chip in on a massive scale of $$$ to save the urban & rural lifestyles & practices that are water-draining & unsustainable in the long term, whether they be drawn from aquifers &/or from river resources.
In the midwest, the west, the south & the northeast, water resources are being strained to an alarming degree & there promise to be growing skirmishes between various municipalities & between the states as water rights are sought to be protected for various interests.
The Supreme Court recently agreed to take on a suit filed against the State of Georgia by the State of Florida. The decision handed down by the court could reinforce the status quo of the present systems of allocations or it could send a shock wave that will force a re-examination of how water resources are shared & allocated in the future.
Fairly devoid of aquifers & mostly reliant on rain water runoff to supply it's 10 million residents & the thirsty metropolis of Atlanta, the governor of Georgia famously urged people to "pray for rain" in the midst of a sharp drought episode in a recent year. In the interim, no new reservours of note have been put into the planning mode.
I'm confident that Iowa will not sit around inactively waiting for a water resource disaster to appear on it's immediate horizon before coming up with rational solutions to the problem.

Growing water use threatens to strain Jordan aquifer

[Meemur]

I wasn't aware of this problem. Thanks for posting the article. I was thinking that with all of the lakes around here, water wasn't an issue, aside from times of drought. I stand corrected.

[commie21]

i wasnt aware either but thanks for the update

[mofford]

Another more immediate threat to our water supply is the ever increasing nitrate levels in our rivers. Making the news in DSM this week is a mysterious increase of nitrates in both the Raccoon and DSM rivers this fall, to levels that rival the normal peak in late spring when fertilizer runoff is at a maximum. When the levels get too high they have to run a nitrate filter machine that costs $7000 a day to operate. Our water rates (and electric) have increased considerably in the past few years and I don't want to foot the bill for it on my water bill.

I know what causes nitrates and I want them to look in that direction (the source) for the extra funding it will take to treat the water.